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Special definitive stamp series to be issued
The Postmaster General, Mr Robert Footman, announced today (Monday) that a full set of low value definitive reprint stamps tagged with phosphorescent ink would be issued on April 24 (Wednesday).
This is part of the sixth definitive stamp series issued by the Hong Kong Post Office during the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and also the first set of definitive stamps coated with phosphorescent ink to facilitate ordinary mail processing by Culler-Facer-Canceller (CFC) machines which will be installed in mid-1996.
The CFC will automatically segregated mail items into packets/flats and letters. They then cancel the postage stamps on letters with a date impression and further segregate them into local/surface mail and airmail.
For this purpose, postage stamps which are normally used for local/surface letters will be tagged with two vertical phosphorescent bars and those for airmail one bar. The phosphorescent bars are colourless but will give a yellow or green afterglow when activated by an ultra-violet lamp.
For the current definitive stamps, denominations up to and including $2 are tagged with two bars while those from $2.10 to $5.00 are tagged with one bar.
A presentation pack containing all the low value reprints, with denominations of 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, $1, $1.10, $1.20, $1.30, $1.50, $1.90, $2, $2.10, $2.60 and $5, will be put on sale on April 24 for $37 each at the following eight philatelic offices:
Airport Post Office
Beaconsfield House Post Office
General Post Office
Granville Road Post Office
Peak Post Office
Sha Tin Central Post Office Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office
Tsuen Wan Post Office
Customers may also place advance orders for special position of the definitive reprint stamps at the eight philatelic offices between April 17 and 19 and collect their orders on April 24 at the post office where they place their orders.